Israel- Hamas war LIVE: Egypt-Gaza border opens, letting desperately needed aid flow to Palestinians

More than 1,400 people in Israel and 4,137 Palestinians have been killed in the deadly war that broke on the first week of October.

As Israel's war on Gaza Strip entered 14 th day, the border crossing between Egypt and Gaza opened to let desperately needed aid flow to Palestinians running short of food, medicine and water in the territory that is under an Israeli siege.

Hamas freed two American hostages on Friday. Palestinians tensely wait for aid to reach them, after US President Joe Biden principally agreed to allow aid trucks into Gaza.

Israel says it wants to eradicate Hamas and other resistance fighters in Gaza Strip but doesn't plan to take responsibility for the besieged region after the war.

Here are the LIVE updates:

Day 14 of Israel-Hamas Conflict: Key Developments

Egypt and Jordan harshly criticized Israel over its actions in Gaza at Cairo summit

Police in London said nearly 100,000 people marched in the capital Saturday in an event organised by pro-Palestinian groups calling for "an end to the war on Gaza".

Israel to step up Gaza strikes to increase pressure on Hamas, a military spokesman told a press conference

Qatar says mediation will lead to Hamas hostage releases 'very soon'

UN chief Antonio Guterres pleaded for a "humanitarian ceasefire" in the war between Israel and Hamas militants to end Gaza's 'godawful nightmare'

Private homes can be legitimate targets if Hamas militants are in them, says IDF Officials

Israeli forces and Hezbollah fighters exchanged fire on Saturday in several areas along the Lebanon-Israel border as violence escalated over the Israel-Hamas war.

First relief convoy enters Gaza devastated by 'nightmare' war

The two-truck U.N. convoy that entered Gaza from Egypt is carrying over 44,000 bottles of drinking water from the U.N. children’s agency - a day’s supply for 22,000 people, according to UNICEF.

Iraq's PM Mohammed Shia al-Sudani said if the war escalates it will affect the flow of oil to international markets.

The death toll in Gaza has reached 4,385 since Israel began bombarding the Palestinian enclave, including 1,756 children and 976 women, the Hamas-controlled health ministry said.

Hamas attack doesn't justify Israel's 'collective punishment' of Palestinians: UN chief

Egyptian president says forcing Palestinians into Egypt isn’t the answer

Biden says Hamas attacked Israel in part to stop a historic agreement with Saudi Arabia

French intelligence points to Palestinian rocket for Gaza hospital blast

London records big spike in antisemitic, Islamophobic hate crimes amid Israel conflict

Cairo summit: Arab leaders, at peace with Israel, express anger over Gaza war

Egypt and Jordan harshly criticized Israel over its actions in Gaza at a summit on Saturday, a sign that the two Western allies that made peace with Israel decades ago are losing patience with its two-week-old war against Hamas.READ FULL REPORT

UN Secretary-General António Guterres appealed for a humanitarian ceasefire

Jordan's King Abdullah warned non-Arab countries to avoid sending the "very dangerous" message that "Palestinians lives matter less than Israeli ones"

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said South Africans could relate to the plight of Palestinians in the "struggle to achieve their freedom"

UK Foreign Secretary James Cleverly said he had spoken to the Israeli government directly "about their duty to respect international law and the importance of preserving civilian lives in Gaza"

Japan's Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa said the international community must not let the war "shut the windows of opportunity for Middle East peace"

Brazil's Foreign Minister Mauro Vieira called on the world to avoid any possibility of regional spillover of the conflict

Germany's Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said the flames of hatred must not be fanned, "because that is exactly what Hamas and their sponsors want"

In pictures: Pro-Palestinian protests in London

Demonstrators hold up flags and placards during a pro-Palestinian demonstration in London. (Photo | AP)

Police motorcyclists try to get through the crowd of protesters during a pro-Palestinian demonstration in London (Photo | AP)

Demonstrators hold up flags and placards as they sand on the base of Nelson's Column in Trafalgar Square during a pro-Palestinian demonstration in London (Photo | AP)

Demonstrators hold up flares, flags and placards during a pro-Palestinian demonstration in London (Photo | AP)

Demonstrators hold up flags and placards during a pro-Palestinian demonstration in London (Photo | AP)

A damaged poster on a lamppost shows an image of Israeli citizens who have allegedly been kidnapped by the militant group Hamas, during a pro-Palestinian demonstration in London (Photo | AP)

Nearly 100,000 pro-Palestinians march in London: police

Police in London said nearly 100,000 people marched in the capital Saturday in an event organised by pro-Palestinian groups calling for "an end to the war on Gaza".

Marchers held signs reading "Freedom for Palestine" and "Stop Bombing Gaza" and "End Israeli Apartheid". Many waved Palestinian flags and some chanted "5, 6, 7, 8, Israel is a terrorist state" and "Free Palestine".

"We came to show our support because we can't stay silent, watch the news, and then do nothing," Mariam Abdul-Ghani, an 18-year-old student whose family is from the Palestinian territories, said.

Israel to step up Gaza strikes: military spokesman

Israel is to step up its punishing strikes in Gaza to increase pressure on Hamas, a military spokesman told a press conference on Saturday.

Israel has also massed tens of thousands of troops and hundreds of tanks along the Gaza border for a widely anticipated ground invasion.

"We have to enter the next phase of the war in the best conditions, not according to what anyone tells us. From today, we are increasing the strikes and minimising the danger," military spokesman Admiral Daniel Hagari told a press conference.

In Israel, military commanders visited frontline units on Saturday.

"Gaza is densely populated, the enemy is preparing a lot of things there -- but we are also preparing for them," chief of staff Lieutenant General Herzi Halevi told one infantry brigade on a visit.

Qatar says mediation will lead to Hamas hostage releases 'very soon'

Qatar, a key power in the efforts to release hostages seized by Hamas from Israel, believes they can be released "very soon" thanks to ongoing discussions, a Qatari Foreign Ministry spokesman told the German Welt am Sonntag newspaper Saturday.

"I can't promise you this will happen today or tomorrow or after tomorrow. But we are taking a path that will very soon lead to the release of the hostages, especially civilians," Majed Al-Ansari said.

"We are currently working on an agreement under which all civilian hostages will be initially released," he added.

UN chief urges ceasefire to end Gaza's 'godawful nightmare'

UN chief Antonio Guterres pleaded Saturday for a "humanitarian ceasefire" in the war between Israel and Hamas militants that has devastated much of Gaza, demanding "action to end this godawful nightmare".

Addressing a Cairo summit that ultimately proved fruitless, according to Arab diplomats, Guterres said the Palestinian enclave of 2.4 million people was living through "a humanitarian catastrophe" with thousands dead and more than a million displaced. READ FULL REPORT

Private homes can be legitimate targets if Hamas militants are in them, says IDF Officials

A senior Israel Defense Forces official says the military will try not to strike zones in Gaza where humanitarian aid is being distributed unless rockets are fired from the area.

“It’s a safe zone. We have a system in which every time we decide that an area … is a safe zone, we declare no attack in this area. We won’t attack them,” he told a group of foreign journalists.

He added that the definition of what constitutes a “legitimate target” has changed because the use of civilian infrastructure by Hamas “turns a private home into a legitimate target. And anyone who supports that home is a legitimate target.”

He acknowledged that the IDF has attacked houses where there are civilians living among militants.

Fighting intensifies along Israel's border with Lebanon

Israeli forces and Hezbollah fighters exchanged fire on Saturday in several areas along the Lebanon-Israel border as violence escalated over the Israel-Hamas war.

The state-run National News Agency reported that Israeli shelling hit several villages, adding that a car was directly hit in the village of Houla. There was no immediate word on casualties.

An Israeli army spokesman said a group of gunmen fired a shell into Israel adding that an Israeli drone then targeted them. He added that another group of gunmen fired toward the Israeli town of Margaliot and a drone attacked them shortly afterwards.

“Direct hits were scored in both strikes,” Israeli army spokesman Avichay Adraee posted on X, formerly known as Twitter.

First relief convoy enters Gaza devastated by 'nightmare' war

Trucks with humanitarian aid for the 'Gaza Strip enter from Egypt in Rafah on Saturday (Photo | AP)

The first aid trucks arrived in war-torn Gaza from Egypt on Saturday, bringing urgent humanitarian relief to the Hamas-controlled Palestinian enclave suffering what the UN chief labelled a "godawful nightmare".

20 trucks from the Egyptian Red Crescent, which is responsible for delivering aid from various UN agencies, pass through the Rafah border.

Hamas spokesman said "even dozens" of such convoys could not meet Gaza's needs, especially as no fuel was being allowed in to help distribute the supplies to those in need. READ FULL REPORT

Fighting intensifies along Israel’s border with Lebanon

Israeli forces and Hezbollah fighters exchanged fire Saturday in several areas along the Lebanon-Israel border as violence escalates over the Israel-Hamas war, reports the Associated Press.

Tension has been picking up along the border over the past two weeks following the Oct. 7, attack by the Palestinian militant Hamas group on southern Israel that killed over 1,400 civilians and troops. Israel’s strikes on Gaza since then have killed over 4,000 Palestinians.

A shell from Israeli artillery explodes over a house in al-Bustan, a Lebanese border village with Israel, south Lebanon, Sunday, Oct. 15, 2023. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)

US welcomes aid to Gaza, urges parties to keep Rafah crossing open

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, in a newly released statement, has urged all parties to keep the Rafah crossing into Gaza open to enable aid to continue coming through.

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UNICEF says initial aid convoy will save lives but is inadequate

Iraqi prime minister warns of effect on oil if conflict spreads

Iraq's PM Mohammed Shia al-Sudani said if the war escalates it will affect the flow of oil to international markets. He was apparently referring to Iran-backed militias that have started launching attacks against U.S. bases in Iraq and Syria and have warned they will step in if Hamas is threatened.

Al-Sudani told an international summit held in Egypt that Baghdad rejects the emptying of the Gaza Strip because “the Palestinians have no other place but their land.”

He called for an immediate cease-fire and an exchange of prisoners to end the current conflict.

Gaza death toll rises to 4,385: Hamas health ministry

The death toll in Gaza has reached 4,385 since Israel began bombarding the Palestinian enclave, including 1,756 children and 976 women, the Hamas-controlled health ministry said Saturday.

The ministry added that another 13,561 people had been injured.

A Palestinian woman holds her cousin killed in the Israeli bombardment of the Gaza Strip in Rafah on Saturday, Oct. 21, 2023. (Photo | AP)

Hamas attack doesn't justify Israel's 'collective punishment' of Palestinians: UN chief

The United Nations' chief says Hamas' "reprehensible assault" on Israel "can never justify the collective punishment of the Palestinian people".

Secretary-General António Guterres called for protection of civilians and the sparing of civilian infrastructure, including hospitals, schools, and UN premises, from the bombardment.

Speaking at a summit Egypt is hosting on the Israel-Gaza war, Guterres pointed to the "the wider context" of war, saying that the two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is "the only realistic foundation for a true peace and stability".

"Israelis must see their legitimate needs for security materialized, and Palestinians must see their legitimate aspirations for an independent state realized," he said.

READ MORE

Hamas attack doesn’t justify Israel’s ‘collective punishment’ of Palestinians: UN chief

The United Nations’ chief says Hamas’ “reprehensible assault” on Israel “can never justify the collective punishment of the Palestinian people.”

Says that the two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is “the only realistic foundation for a true peace and stability.”

“Israelis must see their legitimate needs for security materialized, and Palestinians must see their legitimate aspirations for an independent state realized,” he said.

READ MORE

Egyptian president says forcing Palestinians into Egypt isn’t the answer

Speaking at a summit his government is hosting on the war Saturday, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi has reiterated his government’s rejection of forcing Palestinians in Gaza to flee into his country’s Sinai Peninsula.

He said that the Palestinian cause won’t be settled through forcing the Palestinians to leave their homes, and “end the statehood dream.”

The Egyptian leader set out a roadmap to end the ongoing war which included ensuring the flow of aid to Gaza, negotiating a cease-fire, and embarking on peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians to establish a Palestinian state based on the borders before the 1967 Mideast war.

Gaza aid convoy 'must not be the last': UN humanitarian chief Martin Griffiths

The first convoy carrying aid into the besieged Gaza Strip Saturday "must not be the last", the UN humanitarian chief said as trucks loaded with supplies entered the war-torn enclave.

"I am confident that this delivery will be the start of a sustainable effort to provide essential supplies... to the people of Gaza," said Martin Griffiths after 20 trucks crossed from Egypt into Gaza.

"This first convoy must not be the last," he warned.

Aid starts moving into the Gaza Strip through Rafah border after 2 weeks of war

Egypt-Gaza Rafah border.

Aid deliveries have begun moving into the besieged Gaza Strip, two weeks after the militant group Hamas rampaged through southern Israel and Israel responded with airstrikes.

The border crossing between Egypt and Gaza opened on Saturday to let desperately needed aid flow to Palestinians running short of food, medicine and water in the territory that is under an Israeli siege.

More than 200 trucks carrying roughly 3,000 tons of aid, which had been positioned near the crossing for days, began heading into Gaza. Read the story in detail:

Humanitarian aid convoy begins crossing into Gaza Strip from Egypt

Trucks carrying humanitarian aid from Egypt into war-torn and besieged Gaza started passing through the Rafah border crossing Saturday, a security source and an Egyptian Red Crescent official told AFP.

Egyptian state television showed several trucks entering the gate on the 15th day of the war between Israel and Hamas, the militant movement that rules the Palestinian enclave of 2.4 million people.

Biden says Hamas attacked Israel in part to stop a historic agreement with Saudi Arabia

President Joe Biden said Friday that he believed Hamas's brutal attack on Israel two weeks ago was aimed at disrupting warming ties between the country and Saudi Arabia.

"One of the reasons why they acted like they did... why Hamas moved on Israel. (was) because they knew I was about to sit down with the Saudis," Biden told guests at a campaign fundraiser.

"The Saudis wanted to recognize Israel. unite the Middle East," he said. Read in detail:

French intelligence points to Palestinian rocket for Gaza hospital blast

An assessment by French military intelligence indicates the most likely cause of the deadly explosion at Gaza City’s al-Ahli hospital was a Palestinian rocket that carried an explosive charge of about 5 kilograms (11 pounds) and possibly misfired, a senior French military official said Friday.

Several rockets in the arsenal of the Palestinian militant group Hamas carry explosive charges of about that weight, including an Iranian-made rocket and another that is Palestinian-made, the intelligence official said.

None of their intelligence pointed to an Israeli strike, the official said. Read the story in detail:

London records big spike in antisemitic, Islamophobic hate crimes amid Israel conflict

The UK capital has registered a big spike in antisemitic and Islamophobic hate crimes since the Israel-Gaza conflict broke out, Scotland Yard data revealed on Friday as the police force sought to reassure communities of additional force deployment to protect against such incidents in London.

According to the Metropolitan Police figures, between October 1 and 18, there were 218 antisemitic offences compared to 15 in the same period last year. During the same period, Islamophobic offences registered a spike from 42 to 101. These represent percentage rises of 1,353 per cent and 140 per cent respectively. Read the story in detail

First release of two hostages by Hamas amid intense bombing

Hours after the Israel Defense Forces said 20 of the 200 hostages held by Hamas in Gaza are children and that most of the hostages are alive, the militant group announced the release of two Americans.

In a statement posted on Telegram late on Friday, Hamas armed wing spokesman Abu Ubaida said: “In response to Qatari efforts, (Ezzedine) al-Qassam Brigades released two American citizens (a mother and her daughter) for humanitarian reasons.” Read the story in detail